LAND BASED
We had some reasonable periods of rain over the last week which has fired up the Barra in the weirs with some real brutes getting hooked but not always landed. This is when tying good knots pays off as you can keep steady pressure on the hooked fish without the chance of them breaking off. Some nice Barra have been caught at Aplins weir on large live baits and occasionally on a lure. When using live bait try hooking it in the nose as any current will keep the bait alive longer and allow it to sit naturally, rather than a hook in the side which can kill the bait fish quicker. If you are using lures then try slow sinking soft plastics retrieved very slowly, one that I have had good success on is the squidgy slick rig fitted with a light weight area 51 jig head. A few reasonable jacks have been caught around the local traps also with spots like the causeway and Victoria Bridge showing up some good fishing. Small live herring are great baits for jacks rigged on a light running sinker and 3/0 wide gap hook. Also small Koolabung blades worked along the bridge pylons get plenty of attention but be prepared for a few donations because a feisty jack sure does know how to tie you up on any nearby structure.

INSHORE
The keener fishermen headed out over the weekend chasing a few fish and from reports it was pretty tough with only a handful of fish caught and a fair amount of effort was needed to get results. The main action was from anglers using live prawn baits and prawn style soft plastics for a few Barra. To the north of Townsville the Hinchinbrook channel was fished for similar action with not big numbers caught after a day on the water but some quality fish were around. Lure fishing the many drains produced fish at the right stage of the run out tide although the bite time was short so having the right lure on at the right time was a must. Some big queenfish and trevally have also been caught around the bigger creek mouths and having a few rods rigged up with poppers and slices will give you the best chance of hooking any fish seen busting up bait on the surface. Some good crabs are still getting caught in the creeks although a bit of sorting is required to find the bigger crabs. Just make sure you don’t forget the crab measure as it’s pretty hard to measure a crab without one.

OFFSHORE & BAY
With plenty of strong winds around and some rather large seas it has made off shore fishing very difficult. Anglers targeting school mackerel inshore and around the weed beds have managed to snare a few when the weather allows and as always the humble floated pilchard has been catching a few. The odd nice cobia gets caught around the weed beds as well so it pays to have a rod rigged up with another bait or lure as cobia are renowned for following up already hooked fish. So if you see one you can get your other line straight in there for a chance of hooking up. A spin rod set up works fine for this style of fishing when spooled up with a 30lb test braid and a 50lb leader, it’s that simple!

SUGGESTED SPOTS THIS WEEKEND
Weather permitting a morning out in the bay around the shipping channel and weed beds chasing a few school mackerel should be a good option. Alternatively doing a bit of crabbing in the creeks is always plenty of fun.